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Us troops looting Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030402/od_uk_nm/oukoe_iraq_collectors_1http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030402/od_uk_nm/oukoe_iraq_collectors_1
Yahoo! News Mon, Apr 14, 2003
Oddly Enough - UK Reuters
Troops proud of Iraq collectibles
Wed Apr 2, 9:28 AM ET
(By Ian Bruce of The Herald, Glasgow in pooled copy)
The grinning lance corporal produces his latest find - an Iraqi "Duschka" - an old Soviet heavy machine gun, and adds it to the hoard of souvenirs he has accumulated in two weeks of fighting and scavenging.
Now in temporary reserve, the Black Watch battle group has become an army of trophy hunters. Every vehicle sports enemy helmets, belts, bayonets and ammunition pouches. Many have acquired AK47 assault rifles, binoculars and Iraqi military posters and maps.
One US Marine attached to the Scottish unit has a target spotter for air strikes and has abandoned his M16 for a Kalashnikov.
"I had to strip down three abandoned weapons to get enough working parts to put one back into business condition," he says. "The Iraqi conscripts were not too hot on basic maintenance."
At a security base in western al Zubayr, the most highly prized item is the rocket-propelled grenade launcher, a shoulder fired weapon capable of hurling a warhead which can destroy trucks and Land Rovers, punch holes in buildings, or even immobilise tanks by blowing off their tracks.
The RPG remains the most feared piece of equipment available to local militias. It is responsible for one Black Watch death and a number of wounded in roadside ambushes.
The hunters guard their collection jealously and a lively barter trade in scarce commodities has developed. There are even refinements in the market.
A helmet in mint condition with working chinstraps and internal padding is worth three or four of the basic versions.
There is also a minor trade in Iraqi cap badges and pictures of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). But the bottom has literally fallen out of the exchange rate for both allied and Iraqi propaganda leaflets. Most have been pressed into service as toilet paper.
Veteran Colour Sergeant Chris Baltiziuk says: "It's the same story no matter whether we are in Iraq (news - web sites) or Kosovo. Trophies help the boys polish up their war stories when they get home.
"They know they are not allowed to take back working enemy weapons or live ammunition, but they collect them all the same. Some will risk it, despite the possibility that the military police will carry out spot checks on individuals or even entire units.
"The Duschka anti-aircraft machine gun one of our lads has weighs more than 30lbs. The guy who's looted that might have a lot of explaining to do.
"Either that or he's got some size of mantelpiece to hang it over."
Trade is also brisk between the British and Americans. The US soldiers will give almost anything for a Black Watch red hackle cap emblem. They willingly hand over their own unit insignia, Zippo lighters and expensive pieces of kit for objects the Scots normally throw away.
One enterprising Scottish soldier obtained scarce cigarettes from his Transatlantic allies by palming them off with British ration black treacle pudding. This indigestible hazard to dental work usually ends up in rubbish burn-pits. The alternative is using it to armour plate soft skinned vehicles.
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